Postal worker arrested for bank robbery said he needed the money

A Florida postal worker is in federal custody after police said he admitted to robbing a Palm Springs bank of nearly $10,000 to help his ex-wife and children pay their bills.

George Luis Murillo allegedly robbed a Bank of America branch just after 2 p.m. on April 4. A tracking device placed with the stolen money led authorities to Murillo in Palm Beach Gardens that afternoon, according to a federal investigator’s report. Police pulled over the black Chevy Impala he was driving. His girlfriend’s son and daughter were also in the vehicle.

The daughter told police that Murillo was supposed to pick her up for lunch, but called to say he was running late. When he picked her up, “he commented about what a great day it was,” according to the report.

The daughter, whose age is not included in the report, said Murillo lives with her mother and her brother and helps support them along with children he has from a former marriage. He recently bought a car for her mother as well as a gun for Valentine’s Day, she told investigators.

Her brother, who said he is a senior at Palm Beach Gardens High School, said he was picked up from school shortly before they were pulled over by police. During that time, he said Murillo asked him to move a backpack from the backseat to the floor of the car.

The brother and sister were both shown photos of the robbery, and the clothing and the backpack matched items owned and worn by Murillo, according to the report.

Murillo told investigators that he became nervous after a fight with his ex-wife and needed to have cash before his family was evicted. After pawning items, selling his car and trying to get money from friends, he realized the only way he’d get the money is to rob a bank.

He said he chose the Bank of America because it’s close to where he worked.

He said he went into the bank with a gun he borrowed from a friend and a mask from the military and demanded cash, which investigators later determined to be $9,271.

Murillo was also arrested in March on an assault charge, according to a North Palm Beach police report.

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